


I'll Take Full Responsibility

by clgfanfic



Category: War of the Worlds (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-21
Updated: 2013-02-21
Packaged: 2017-11-30 00:33:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/693310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clgfanfic/pseuds/clgfanfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A missing scene from the episode "Thy Kingdom Come."</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Take Full Responsibility

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the zine Green Floating Weirdness #13 under the pen name Laura Grigsby.

_"What's Delta Force doing here?"_

 

          Harrison Blackwood stood at the edge of the small lake, trying to reconcile the beautiful morning – complete with soft breezes, pale orange clouds, and wild loons calling – with the macabre flotsam of dead aliens that dotted the water's surface.  He twisted absently on a blade of glass, and sighed heavily.  Behind him he heard the colonel approaching.

          Ironhorse stepped up next to him, a cup of coffee in hand.  "What are we going to tell the Canadian authorities?" he asked.  "That they were terrorists?"

          Norton leaned out the driver's side window of the Green Machine.  "How 'bout illegal aliens?" he suggested.

          Harrison snorted softly, but did not reply.

          Pouring two cups of coffee from a tall thermos, Suzanne also snorted softly and shook her head.  "I can hardly believe we won," she said, handing Norton one of the cups.

          Harrison turned and started back toward the van.  "We tied, Suzanne," he corrected.  "Too many got away last night.  There's got to be thousands more buried out there all over the world."  He stopped, leaning against the van.  "And we've got to find them before they do… and we've only just started."

          Ironhorse finished the last swallow of his coffee and looked disgusted.  Blackwood was right.  And in war, ties were the same as losses.

          Harrison looked thoughtfully at Suzanne.  "But why didn't they decompose?"

          She turned, leaning back against the van.  "I think the cold temperatures of the water stopped the exothermic reaction."

          The colonel glanced over his shoulder, noting all the uniforms.  "Or some of them were human," he said quietly.

          "No," Suzanne corrected.

          Ironhorse turned to face her.

          She glanced down, unable to meet his eyes.  "I mean, they can't— _I_ can't believe that," she finished softly.

          "We need to make sure," Harrison said.  "And the tissue samples of the non-decomposed, blended aliens might tell us something useful."

          "I'll get them up onto the bank," Ironhorse said.  "But we have to hurry.  The Canadians are going to come looking for their people."

          "Right," Blackwood said, turning back to stare at what seemed like an overwhelming number of bodies.

          "All of you, freeze, right where you are."

          The command was crisp and no-nonsense and the four Project Members did exactly that.  Several Canadians moved out of the trees, their weapons leveled and ready to fire.  Surrounding the foursome, one man stepped forward to disarm Ironhorse.

          The officer in charge stepped closer to the lake.  "My God," he said thickly, turning back to face the Project members.  "Who's responsible for this?"

          "I'll take full responsibility," Blackwood said, taking a step toward the man.  Several weapons shifted, and Ironhorse reached out to bring the scientist to a stop before he was shot.

          "You will, will you?" the commander said, stalking up to stand in front of Blackwood.  "You killed these good men?"

          "They—"

          Ironhorse shifted slightly, placing himself between Blackwood and the Canadian.  The man's gaze shifted slightly, meeting the colonel's.

          "We need to talk," Ironhorse said in his best colonel's voice.

          The man nodded once, then jerked his head to indicate that they should do it in private.

          Ironhorse started off, the Canadian following.

          "Colonel," Harrison called after them.

          Paul paused and looked back at the astrophysicist.  "I'll take care of this, Doctor."

          The colonel's tone stated firmly that he wasn't going to be persuaded otherwise.  Blackwood nodded.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          "Would you please tell me what the hell's going on?" the Canadian asked.  "I ran your identification.  What's Delta Force doing here?"

          Ironhorse sighed.  "Do you have access to a secured line?"

          The man nodded.

          "I have to make a call before I can answer that."

          "All right."  The officer reached for the radio on his web belt and keyed it.  "Thompson, I need the secure line."

          "Roger, sir," a voice replied and a moment later a young man joined them.

          The Canadian allowed Ironhorse to use the satellite-based communication system to contact his own people.

          "Code thirty-three, level three, authorization twelve," he said.  "Code name Saber.  I need to speak to Tango Seven Blue."  They waited a moment before the necessary connection were made.  "General?"

          "Go ahead, Colonel," Wilson replied on the other end.

          "Sir, we have a situation here.  I need authorization to explain the details to the Canadians."

          "I was notified when they ran your identifications.  I spoke to the President.  He's not happy about letting the genie out of the bottle, but you do have clearance to explain the situation to the prime minister and any military personnel with the rank of General."

          "Yes, sir, I understand.  Thank you, sir."

          "I want a full report when you get back, Colonel."

          "Yes, sir."

          Paul handed the radio back to the officer.  "I can explain to your prime minister, and any military officers with the rank of general.  That's all."

          The man's eyes widened.  "I'll see what I can arrange."

          "Fine, but until that's ready, my people need to take cell samples from the dead."

          The Canadian's jaw muscles popped.  "But—"

          "It's vital that we not lose this opportunity to gather intelligence.  They won't desecrate the bodies."

          "Intelligence—?"  The man hesitated a moment, but nodded.  "All right, Colonel."

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          The Blackwood Project sat in the plush comfort of a hotel suite.  Scattered around the room were several stunned Canadian generals and a pale prime minister.

          "I'll see to it that a search of the records is conducted.  If there are other storage sites in Canada, we'll find them," one of the generals stated.

          "If you find anything, contact General Henry J. Wilson at the Pentagon," Ironhorse instructed.

          "What do we tell the families of the soldiers who were… taken over?" another asked.

          "General Wilson can also provide you with the operational cover story," Paul supplied.

          "Terrorists," a third general huffed.  "It's closer to the truth than I'm comfortable with."

          Blackwood nodded.  "We know exactly how you feel."

          The field officer stood, no longer glad that he had insisted he be involved.  "We have one more problem."

          "Oh?" the prime minister asked.

          The soldier nodded.  "We have the boy, Bobby Romano."

          "He's an American citizen," Norton supplied.

          "We can take him back," Suzanne said.

          "Now just a minute—" Paul started.

          "No," Blackwood interrupted.  "He's our responsibility now."

          "Doctor," Paul almost snapped, "we don't have the facilities to—"

          "I'm not suggesting that we adopt him, Colonel," Harrison said.  "But we do owe him an explanation."

          "Maybe he has other family," Suzanne said.  "We can't just leave him here."

          Ironhorse considered for a moment, then nodded.

          "He's at the infirmary on the base," the field officer said.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Back at the infirmary, Ironhorse started toward the room where Bobby Romano waited.  Harrison reached out and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Paul glanced back at the scientist.  Harrison shook his head.  "No, Colonel.  I'll do it."

          "You're sure?"

          Blackwood nodded.  "My responsibility, remember?"

          Ironhorse looked away and Harrison stepped around him and disappeared behind the door.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          Bobby looked up as Harrison came in, then quickly tried to wipe the evidence of tears off his face.

          Harrison pretended not to notice as he sat down on the bed across from the one where Bobby sat cross-legged.  "Hi," he said.

          "Hi," Bobby replied.

          "My name's Harrison, Harrison Blackwood."

          "I'm Bobby.  Bobby Romano."  He sniffed.  "Do you know what happened to my mom and dad?"

          Harrison nodded sadly.  "Yes, I do."

          "They're…"  Bobby trailed off, his forehead wrinkling in youthful confusion.  "Gone."  He looked up, meeting Harrison's eyes.  "Aren't they."

          "Yes."

          "Are they coming back?"

          "No."

          "Grandma, too?"

          "Yes, her, too."

          "Why'd they go away?" Bobby asked.

          Harrison shifted, leaning closer to the boy.  "They didn't want to, Bobby.  They were forced to, by… some very bad people."

          "Who?"

          Blackwood stood and paced away.  "I know this might be hard for you to understand, but—"

          The boy's eyes narrowed.  "They weren't really people, were they?"

          Harrison turned back to face the boy.  "No.  They weren't really people.  They were aliens.  Bad aliens from another world, and they killed my parents, too."

          Bobby's eyes filled with tears, but they didn't fall.  "What's gonna happen to me?"

          "Do you have other family?  Aunts?  Uncles?"

          Bobby shook his head, the first tears falling.  "No."

          "We'll find someone," Harrison promised.

          The boy bolted from the bed and dashed to the scientist, wrapping his arms around the astrophysicist's midsection.  Burying his face in Harrison's shirt, he cried.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

          "Colonel," Harrison said, watching a young couple meeting Bobby.  "Who are these people?"

          "Daniel and Shone Trevors.  And that's all I know."

          "Who picked them?"

          "I'd guess they're connected to the government somehow."

          Harrison frowned.  "That's rather vague, Colonel."

          "Harrison, there are some things that we don't need to know.  I'm sure they'll take good care of the boy."

          "I hope you're right, Colonel," Harrison said.  "Will we be able to see him?"

          "If you want to," Ironhorse assured.

          "I think he'll need to talk to someone who…"

          "Understands?" the colonel finished.

          Blackwood nodded.  "It's not easy," he said softly.  "It's a big secret for someone that young."

          "I know.  And I wouldn't think it could be easy."

          Harrison glanced at the colonel, surprised at the compassion in his voice, and unable to decide if it was for him or the boy.

          "It's a lot more personal this way, isn't it," the scientist asked.

          Ironhorse met Blackwood's gaze.  "Doctor, war is always personal."


End file.
